Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti is calling on the Province of Ontario to reimburse municipalities for investments they made in the Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) Program.
York Region is seeking full reimbursement from the province for the costs of its speed camera program after Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced his plan on September 25 to ban speed cameras across the province.
The Ontario government said it intends to introduce legislation this fall that will ban the use of municipal automated speed enforcement cameras across the province, ensuring they are no longer used as a form of revenue.
In an effort to improve road safety, the province said it will instead establish a new provincial fund to help affected municipalities implement alternative safety measures, including proactive traffic-calming initiatives like speed bumps, roundabouts, raised crosswalks, and curb extensions, as well as public education and improved signage, to slow down drivers.
Scarpitti is also questioning the province’s proposed alternatives. The Markham mayor tabled a motion at the Region of York Council meeting in late September that the province pay back the millions of dollars that the municipalities spent on implementing the program.
The region approved the motion by a 17-1 vote.
At the recent Stouffville council meeting on October 1, a motion to review the Automated Speed Enforcement Program — with a targeted end date of December 31, unless directed otherwise by the province — was tabled by Mayor Iain Lovatt and carried by council.
“Let’s put a few speed humps on regional roads, and maybe, in six months’ time, we’ll see new legislation that says, ‘No, no, take those out. We were just kidding. We didn’t mean for you to put in speed humps to slow down speeders in school zones with speed humps,’” said Scarpitti, who called the province’s plans to pay for alternatives presumptuous when municipalities have spent millions on purchasing cameras.
“If the Province of Ontario thinks that we’re going to saddle our property taxpayers with the costs that have not been covered because they’ve now decided to change their direction of what they want municipalities to do in relation to speeding in school zones, we’re not going to pass that onto property taxpayers.”
“(They) should be reimbursing the region, local municipalities that have spent the money to put in place a program that was authorized by the Province of Ontario,” continued the Markham mayor.
Led by Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, mayors from over 20 municipalities across the province also penned a letter to Premier Ford, saying that “speed cameras reduce driver behaviour and save lives.”
A July 2025 study by SickKids and Toronto Metropolitan University found that ASE cameras led to a 45 per cent reduction in speeding vehicles across 250 school zones, including an 88 per cent reduction in vehicles exceeding the speed limit by more than 20 km/h.
“A total ban on ASE would reverse years of progress on safety in school zones,” said the letter. “It would place more pressure on police, increase enforcement costs, and most critically, endanger lives.”
They are asking that speed cameras remain in school zones. Suggestions include cameras being on only during school hours and community use times, a warning ticket on the first offence, as well as the fees collected from speeding fines directed to additional traffic calming measures such as flashing speed signs, roundabouts, and pedestrian crossovers.
“We urge you to provide a carve-out to allow municipalities to continue to deploy ASE in school zones, and work with municipalities to improve understanding, effectiveness, and community engagement around ASE in these areas,” added the letter from the mayors.
Premier Ford, though, has instead doubled down on his government’s plan to ban the speed cameras across the province in a letter sent to Mayors Meed Ward and Brown.
He said of the speed cameras that they are “cash grabs, pure and simple.”
“At a time when governments at all levels should be doing everything they can to lower costs and make life more affordable, too many municipalities are using speed cameras as a cash grab,” said Ford. “Enough is enough. Instead of making life more expensive by sending speeding tickets to drivers weeks after the fact, we’re supporting road-safety measures that will prevent speeding in the first place, keep costs down, and keep our streets safe.”
The Ontario Traffic Council says it has also collected municipal data, which points to ASE as an effective means to reduce speeding.
“We know from speed crash studies that reducing speeds results in less severe injuries and death for those walking, cycling, or rolling,” said the OTC in a letter written to the Burlington mayor.
Maintaining automated speed enforcement programs, they say, is a responsible and informed road safety decision.
“Now is the right time for the province to strengthen ASE – not cancel or suspend it,” said the letter.
Markham and York Region installed new ASE cameras near school zones in May of 2025. York Region’s ASE program has shown that average speeds have been reduced by approximately 10 km/h and increasing speed limit compliance by about 25 per cent. The aim is to have ASE cameras in all school zones on regional roads by 2027.
